Arabic and English Sentence Patterns: A Comparative Guide

13 | P a g e The student is returning from Beirut. ﻣِﻦْ ﺑَﯿْﺮوتَ . اﻟﻄّ ﺎﻟِ ﺐُ راﺟِﻊٌ The student will be returning . . . . . . ﺳَ ﯿَ ﻜﻮنُ اﻟﻄّ ﺎﻟِ ﺐُ راﺟِﻌً ﺎ ﺳَﻮْفَ / Thus, Arabic and English express perfect and progressive aspect in different ways at times; the word perfect does not always have the same meaning in the two languages. Despite other differences, the perfect aspect in both languages consistently refers to completed events. English begins with two tenses, past and present, and adds other verb forms to show changes in aspect. Arabic begins with the same two tenses but does not generally need to add other verb forms to indicate aspectual variation. We cannot, however, refer to the Arabic perfect and imperfect as aspect forms alone; there are also tense/time distinctions, as in the following sentences. “So Peace is on me the day I was born [perfect passive], the day that I die [imperfect active], and the day that I shall be raised up [imperfect passive] to life (again).” The Qur’an : 19:33 ( emphasis mine) "وَاﻟﺴﱠﻼمُ ﻋَﻠﻲﱠ ﯾَﻮْمَ وُﻟِﺪْتﱡ وَﯾَﻮْمَ أَﻣﻮتُ وَﯾَﻮْمَ أُﺑْﻌَﺚُ ﺣَﯿّﺎً." Here, the perfect has past meaning, and both imperfects have future meaning. The perfect can have future meaning as well: If only I [could] get a job! ﻟَ ﻮْ ﺣَ ﺼَ ﻠْ ﺖُ ﻋَ ﻠﻰ وَ ظﯿﻔَ ﺔٍ ! I wish he [would] call me! ﻟَ ﻮْ إﺗ ﱠ ﺼَ ﻞَ ﺑﻲ ! This is the tense/time dissonance discussed earlier. When we use the terms perfect and imperfect for Arabic verbs, we are referring to relative tense/aspect forms, 22 and context is still the sole consistent determiner of time reference. 23 The manner in which Arabic expresses English perfect and progressive aspect is shown in the charts.